3 the state of science in south africa
P H Y S I C S A N D A S T R O N O M Y
of the apartheid era, a combination of the the new strategies had not yet had a mea-
brain drain, the change in focus at the CSIR surable impact; SAIP membership hovered
and the AEC, and much-reduced funding below 400; and the annual conference
for research, in spite of the new FRD/NRF attendance had declined to about 300.
initiative, led to a decline in SAIP member- The SAIP realised that it should entirely
ship and in the number of students who reposition itself in the post-apartheid era,
studied the subject. A symptom of this and the council launched a project called
decline was that the SAJP became unsus- ‘Shaping the Future of Physics in South
tainable and the last issue was published in
Africa’ in co-operation with the DST and
December 1993.
NRF. An investigation was carried out by an
eight-person panel, including five influen-
3.3 Physics and the SAIP in the
tial international scientists, and their report
post-apartheid era
was published in April 2004.
The report’s 15 recommendations caused
T
he African National Congress (ANC)
1
a dramatic ‘turn-around’. First, they empha-
was highly pro-active with respect to
sised the value of large and established
its S&T policies. Even before taking
physics laboratories and activities such as
office, it commissioned a study on the state
iThemba LABS and Necsa in the nuclear sci-
of the S&T system in 1993, and as the new
ences, the NLC at the CSIR, the South Afri-
government it produced a White Paper on
can Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), the
S&T in 1996. The establishment of the De-
Hartebeesthoek Radio Observatory (Hart-
partment of Arts, Culture, Science and Tech-
RAO), and the HMO. Further, it highlighted
nology (DACST) in 1994 was a completely
several flagship projects in physics and as-
fresh start. Its separation into two separate
tronomy that already existed or were un-
departments in 2002, and the establish-
der development. Examples are the South-
ment of a dedicated Department of Sci-
ern African Large Telescope (SALT), the
ence and Technology (DST) demonstrated
MeerKAT radio telescope as a pathfinder
the strategic importance accorded to S&T
for the planned huge international project,
by the government. The National Research
the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), the
and Technology Audit of 1998 provided a Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) to
comprehensive overview of the S&T sys- generate nuclear energy, and the National
tem. Based on these studies, the DACST and Institute for Theoretical Physics (NITheP).
DST initiated many new strategies. The report further emphasised that the
physics community should focus on such
The physics community, however, took time facilities and opportunities without sac-
to react. There were several challenges at rificing the smaller-scale research activi-
the time: student numbers were static; ties practised in university departments,
1
Known by its initials, ANC, this is the governing party of South Africa. It was formed in 1912 and is the oldest political organisation in
the country.
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